It’s time to begin really giving life to my passions.
When I first started this blog, I wanted to make this into a platform for my advocacy work. Obviously, that vision has yet to be realized.
So far, I’ve been working on getting more comfortable with blogging in general before I get into the heavy stuff! I have been posting much more regularly on my Instagram, so definitely follow that if you want to see more of my daily updates!
If you saw my last post, you know that I’ve recently gone through a lot of changes and that has impacted sort of where I’m at in my life.
I’ve had some exciting experiences lately that have really inspired me to redirect this blog to fulfill my original dream! Without further ado, let’s see what I’ve been up to in the past couple months!
Charlotte Pride
Charlotte Pride was August 26-27 this year. If you follow my Instagram, you already know about a lot of the things that I got into!
The first day, I went alone and ended up meeting up with several cool people. I went to Amelie’s with one of my oldest friends (one of my OG friends, if you will. No? Yeah… I’ll just go now…) and her girlfriend before we took to the streets! I had such an amazing time talking with them and walking around. I naturally bought some nifty stickers, an advocacy shirt, and two flags: the demisexual flag and the pansexual flag. Of course, I was wearing a rainbow bowtie and rainbow suspenders, so at the end of the evening when someone asked if I wanted body glitter I obviously accepted. Mistake. There is still glitter in my car.
Anyways, I ended the evening by staying until the very end of the performances on stage. I actually did something that startled even me. I stood up on a bench to tell someone that I really liked how they looked, and I got trapped on a bench by some dancing strangers below! Normally, I would’ve just asked them to move so I could get down, go home, and retreat to my bed. Instead, I just started dancing along with them! I danced on a bench for about an hour, if you can believe it. If you can’t believe it, there’s a video on my Instagram!
Maybe you’re thinking that there’s no way the second day could top the first. I mean, I went to Amelie’s and danced on a bench. You would be wrong, though!
I took my little sister, Ani, to see the parade the second day. It was so amazing to be able to share an experience as wonderful as Pride with my sister. We got some Insomnia Cookies (the best cookies ever known to exist), McDonald’s sweet tea, and a matching bowtie for her. The two of us had a photo taken with a guy holding a sign that said: “There’s probably no God. Now, stop worrying and enjoy your life.” No matter your religious affiliation, I think that taking time to enjoy life is very important. Plus, it was nice to see someone taking such a peaceful, positive stance against the super religious protesters.
It was a lot of social interaction, but Charlotte Pride was such an incredible experience this year. It started the ball rolling on my ideas for what to do next with this blog!
NC State GLBT Center
Something that I wish I had done more during my last two years at NC State would be getting involved with the GLBT Center. As someone who identifies as pansexual (pan), there aren’t a lot of places or communities in which I feel welcome and accepted. As someone who identifies as demisexual (demi)… well, you get the idea.
The GLBT Center has a club called Bi/Pan, which is geared towards individuals who identify as bisexual or pansexual, obviously. There is also a club, AcePack, for people who identify on the asexual scale. I’ve recently started attending the meetings for each of these clubs. It’s nice because, for that hour-long meeting, I’m around people who at least vaguely understand where I stand in society and the experiences that I’ve gone through.
Of course, I still feel out of place in each of those clubs. I feel like I don’t fit in in Bi/Pan because of my demi identity, and like I don’t fit in in AcePack because of my pan identity. Still, it’s a community that I feel closer to than just in my everyday life.
The great discussions that we’ve had in each club, and how the meetings have made me feel, have built upon the feelings that I unearthed after Charlotte Pride. That snowball effect has definitely impacted my LGBT advocacy thoughts!
The Allies for Students with Disabilities (ASD)
As per usual, my work with the Allies for Students with Disabilities has helped me to develop some intense feelings about the population of individuals with disabilities.
My most recent event with the ASD, I provided a student perspective during a presentation about ability for a class. It went pretty well overall, although I didn’t get much of a response from the students. I love being able to talk to students and share my experiences so that they can develop a deeper understanding of ability and accessibility issues. Their feedback allows me to see how people feel and think about individuals with disabilities, which gives me the chance to better tailor my presentations so I can meet the audience where they’re at.
Internship
If you read my Fall Internship: A Teaser post, you know that I am currently interning with Rural Forward NC as a Program Associate. That position has allowed me to be exposed to a variety of topics that I had no or limited previous experience with, such as behavioral health, mental health, and Food Councils.
All of that work is really giving me a new perspective on… pretty much everything!
Personal Discussions
With all of this just overwhelming my mind, I’ve been taking the opportunity to have deep, tough discussions with people.
My lovely best friend, Margaret, gets the brunt of that because we live together. In my defense, we normally also have snacks and the Food Network so she doesn’t just have to listen to me talk for hours on end. She doesn’t seem to mind, though. Actually, Margaret challenges my thoughts and perceptions, which helps me to develop my stance on issues. With her, I’ve really worked out a lot of things that I care about and why. The discussions are great because they help me to think more critically and to reevaluate my own preconceived ideas and unconscious biases.
I’ve also spoken with a couple faculty members that shall remain nameless. Actually, speaking with them gave me a name for how I feel: righteous fury.
What This Means
Wow, that ended up being a very long post! If you’ve read this whole thing, thank you and congratulations on your achievement! If you’ve scrolled to the bottom to see the main point, don’t worry- I’ll never know that you didn’t read it!
The gist of it is this: get ready for some serious advocacy-focused posts!
I have a huge piece of poster paper covered in concepts that fill me with that righteous fury, and I plan to make each and every one of them into a post someday! Here’s a sneak peak of what is to come:
I hope that y’all are as excited about this change as I am! I just can’t wait to really put my advocacy work out there.
“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” – Elie Wiesel
If you listen to this post’s theme song, be prepared to have it stuck in your head!